Would You Be More Careful If It Was You Who Got Pregnant?

Title

Would You Be More Careful If It Was You Who Got Pregnant?

Subject

Women's Liberation

Description

This is a reprint of a pro-birth control poster originally created by photographer, Alan Brooking, art director, Bill Atherton, and copywriter, Jeremy Sinclair, who all worked for Cramer Saatchi advertising agency in Britain. The poster provocatively asks men, "Would you be more careful if it was you who got pregnant?" Many people found the poster shocking and some offensive when it first appeared. Contraception was a much-debated subject and not usually on display in public spaces. The image itself also challenged popular notions of masculinity. These shock tactics effectively drew men's attention to the issue of unwanted pregnancy and has become a famous example of the power of advertising. The poster has been reconceptualized and reused a number of times since the 1960s-era.

Creator

photographer, Alan Brooking, art director, Bill Atherton, and copywriter, Jeremy Sinclair, who all worked for Cramer Saatchi advertising agency in Britain

Source

Roz Payne

Publisher

Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date

1969

Format

poster

Citation

photographer, Alan Brooking, art director, Bill Atherton, and copywriter, Jeremy Sinclair, who all worked for Cramer Saatchi advertising agency in Britain, “Would You Be More Careful If It Was You Who Got Pregnant?,” Roz Payne Sixties Archive, accessed March 28, 2024, https://rozsixties.unl.edu/items/show/84.

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